The winner of the 2026 Bald Archy Prize was announced at the Canberra Potters Gallery in Watson Arts Centre on Thursday night, the coveted $10,000 award going to CityNews’ own cover story pick of the satirical bunch, Emperor Australis by Mark Davis.
As we reported earlier (see), Davis’ work is a satirical reinterpretation of Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon Crossing the Alps, depicting Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a heroic pose astride a kangaroo instead of a stallion as he traverses the Australian landscape.
Naturally, Davis said he was humbled to receive the award: “The Bald Archy is a wonderful competition. It draws out the amazing creative talent and great sense of humour of Australians.”
Davis added that when in Canberra, he liked to stroll through the halls of Parliament House and admire the paintings.
Inspired by them paintings and by Australia’s democratic freedoms he reflected that they gave us “the privilege of both electing and critiquing our leaders, including through humour”.
Also announced at the launch event was the winner of the $2000 2025 People’s Choice Award, which went to veteran Bald Archy entrant Judy Nadin for her caricature of musician Nick Cave, Wild God.
Established in 1994 by the late theatre director and arts entrepreneur Peter Batey, the Bald Archy Prize parodies the Archibald Prize and is always judged by Maude, a sulphur-crested cockatoo from Coolac, where Batey lived until his accidental death in in 2019.
It is now administered by the Museum of the Riverina on behalf of Wagga Wagga City Council, and the prize this year, manager of the museum Tim Kurylowicz said, saw a record number of entries from across the country, including many first-time entrants.
“Turbulent times like these call for sharp wits and fearless satire, and this year’s crop of Bald Archy entries rise to the challenge,” he said.
The 2026 Bald Archy finalists will be at the Watson Arts Centre until March 15 before touring venues across NSW and Victoria. Tour details here
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